Hunted
by Westward
Summary: Something was hunting Glenn in Atlanta. Something far more dangerous than a horde of Walkers.


He had made this trip a dozen times in the past few months. Go to the outskirts Atlanta for a few needed supplies, stay away from the main streets and keep to the back alleys, and get out as soon as possible. By now, Glenn had done this so many times that it should have been cakewalk. But every time he leave the campsite, Shane and Dale repeat the same message over and over again; **be careful**. They both saw him as a teenager first, and would rather have him stay back at the camp. But the group needed supplies, and he was the only one quick enough on his feet to go unnoticed by the undead.

As Glenn snuck through the small hole cut through the fence, his usual place of entry into Atlanta, he tightened his hold on the wadded paper towel in his hands. On the crumpled piece of paper written in Dale's sloppy handwriting was his list. He didn't need it; he had memorized everything on it on the drive to Atlanta. But for some reason, having the actual list in his hands had always calmed him down.

1\. Canned food

2\. Advil

3\. Bandages

4\. Disinfectant

5\. Toothpaste

6\. Tampons (for the women, Amy had been very clear about that. All Glenn did was nod his head in agreement and hope his blush was just passing as a natural reaction to the summer heat.)

7\. Water if possible, but not essential.

It was similar to the lists he had before, but that wasn't his main concern. His main concern was where the hell was he going to find all of this? The pharmacy he had been raiding for the past couple months was finally dwindling in supplies. Glenn was sure that he had taken everything from the place the last time he went to Atlanta, and he hadn't bothered to look around for another pharmacy in his haste to leave. The pair of angry Walkers on his heels didn't leave him much time to look around.

So now he found himself in a troubling set of circumstances. Where the hell was he going to find these supplies? Glenn didn't know the answer, and that sent shivers of unease down his spine.

Glenn kept a fast pace as he ran down the railroad tracks. Cicadas sang, filling the air with their tunes, and heatwaves radiated off of the earth ahead of him. He squinted his eyes against the bright Georgian sun as he looked for any stumbling silhouettes in the near distance. Glenn had a knife on hand, but he doubted that he was capable of taking out more than one Walker at a time. And even then...

_Keep your mind on your job, Glenn, not on the dead_.

He was getting closer to the inner parts of Atlanta by now. It wouldn't be long before he found his usual back alley way. Glenn hopped off of the railroad tracks and made a beeline for an old factory warehouse. He hopped onto the dumpster alongside the building's wall, cringing at the sound the metal made under his feet, and carefully climbed in through the second story window. The old warehouse should have been completely void of Walkers; he made sure of that with the heavy lock and chain he had found on his second trip into the city as a supply runner.

Glenn ran down the stairs, his steps echoing off of the concrete, breaking the eerie silence that had surrounded him. When he reached the ground floor, Glenn stopped by the nearest window. All the windows in this place were barred; even the largest horde wouldn't be able to penetrate through the iron bars. He glanced out of the dust covered plane of glass, holding his breath subconsciously. The alleyway looked empty, but you could never be too careful. Glenn stood in the cold warehouse by the window in complete silence for what felt like an hour, but was more likely only a couple of minutes.

He only moved when he was convinced that there were no stray Walkers roaming around outside. Glenn made his way to the front doors, fumbling with the key in his jean's pocket. Glenn unlocked the lock and chain and then pulled it out off of the double doors. He cracked one of the doors open before poking his head outside hesitantly. There was still no sign of any Walkers in the vicinity.

A sense of urgency washed over Glenn, and he realized that he had to hurry. If he wasn't back at the campsite by sunset, the others would start to worry. He didn't want Shane to send a search party out for him, especially if that search party consisted of the Dixon brothers...

Glenn closed the door behind and then locked the place up again. Hopefully he wouldn't need to rush out of the city, or else that lock and chain would slow him down. But he couldn't think about that right now. Glenn had to find a pharmacy, and fast.

Glenn kept to the shadows as he made his way down the alley. It not only protected him from the sun's severe heat, but hopefully it would make him harder to spot for the Walkers. Fortunately, as Glenn made his way closer to his original supply area, he didn't come across any Walkers. Before thinking of what he was doing, the man entered the pharmacy, silently hoping that there was still stuff left to take back to the camp.

Before anything, Glenn checked the place for any stray Walkers that had trapped themselves in the shop. There had been one, an old woman who had been stumbling around in the unisex bathroom, and Glenn managed to close the door on her before she even realized he was there. Now the Walker was banging on the door, growling like a starving animal as it tried and failed to get through the door.

Glenn didn't want to find out if a Walker was capable of knocking a door down by itself and quickly went through the pharmacy's aisles. The young man swore under his breath when he realized that there was nothing there save for the women's tampons. Glenn quickly deposited two small boxes of the stuff in his beat up messenger bag before leaving the place. But not before he noticed that the door to the bathroom had a crack running through the middle of it. The sight of it disturbed Glenn, sending his poor heart racing a mile a minute.

He mentally crossed tampons off his list, trying to get the sight of the cracked wooden door out of his memory. It took a few minutes before Glenn finally got a hold of himself and then he hurried his pace down the road. Now all he had to do was find another place to raid supplies for who knows how long. A task easier said than done, if you had to ask Glenn. No one would ask him of course, but he was the only up to the job, so Glenn kept his mouth shut when it came to his petty complaints.

Glenn had lived in Atlanta since he was 18, and spent most of his time here in the surrounding neighborhoods. He knew his way around this part of the city. Glenn raked his brain, trying to remember if there was another pharmacy in the vicinity that he could start going to. A quick once over through these back streets, and Glenn was saddened when he spotted nothing. The next best thing would be a grocery store, and the chances were that those were probably ransacked right when the Infection hit. He had been lucky enough when he found that pharmacy still stocked full with supplies last month.

No matter complaining about it now. Glenn had to find something; he couldn't go back to the camp empty handed. The sudden fever Carol's contracted two days ago was still running high. And it seemed everyone but her husband Ed was worried about her health. If it hadn't been for the fact that there were no Walkers that far out of the city, and thus it was impossible for the woman have been bitten, Shane would have been convinced that she was turning. They needed that Advil, and anything else that could bring her fever down.

Glenn was brought out of his distracting, worried thoughts by the sound of a loud, menacing growl.

The man stopped in his tracks and hugged the brick building to his left. He stopped breathing as the growl continued, a deep sound that must have originated from the back of a Walker's throat. The sound was horrifying, and Glenn could feel Goosebumps cover the back of his neck and arms. It was as if he had been submerged into a tub of ice water, and it took all his willpower not to shiver violently in response.

The growls continued, and Glenn desperately searched for the source of the sound. Where was the Walker? Why couldn't he see it? Glenn stood there, frozen in terror until the growling finally disappeared into nothing. And even then, Glenn had trouble moving from that spot; his legs were weak and wobbly, barely holding him upright. He could still hear the sound the Walker had made, his mind replaying the growl on a loop that made his stomach churn in fear.

Glenn just hoped to God that that he had gone unnoticed by that Walker. Perhaps it had stumbled away from him, off to join the large horde that wandered the larger streets, searching for anything to munch on. He _really_ hoped that that was the case. That did nothing to calm this feeling that he was being watched by ominous, malevolent eyes.

He moved faster down the street. He just really wanted to get out of Atlanta now, as soon as possible. Something about what had happened didn't sit well with him. Glenn's entire being told him that something wasn't right. And if it wasn't for his sense of duty to the camp, and to Carol, Glenn would have abandoned this solo run. Even now he was really tempted to turn around and head back to the warehouse...

There was finally a small grocery shop up ahead. Glenn couldn't help but stop and smile in belief at the sight in front of him. He bent forward, placing his palms on his knees as he sucked in much needed air after the long distance jog he took. Glenn soon made his way towards the Grocery shop, pulling his flashlight and small knife out from his messenger bag. First things first, he had to clear out the building before he looked for the supplies.

As he opened the glass front door, Glenn winced at the chiming bell by his right ear. If there were any Walkers in the place, they certainly would have heard that. Sure enough, there was the sound of a growl in the back of the store. Glenn tightened his hold on the knife in his right hand and stepped forward, down aisle #1.

A Walker turned the corner into the aisle, and Glenn surged forward in hopes to catch it by surprise. The knife embedded into the Walker's skull easily enough, and the cry of anger and hunger died on its rotting, blackened lips. The Walker fell to the ground, and Glenn's knife slipped out of it just as easily as it had going in. Glenn raised the knife again, ready in case there was another Walker roaming around that he hadn't seen or heard.

There were two more Walkers in the back of the small grocery shop, where the smell had been too strong for Glenn enter the room. The stench of rotting flesh had instantly made the man gag almost to the point where he thought he would throw up. Whether the smell was coming from beef and pork that was long past its expiration date, or of a poor, unsuspecting victim that had had the same idea that Glenn had, he didn't want to find out. Instead, Glenn opted to barricade the back door with a nearby shelf, propping it against the door handle.

Now that the shop was safe enough to let his guard down, Glenn pocketed his knife and began to wander the store. The shop was dark, and the only light source he had was his small flashlight and the front windows that only illuminated the first ten square feet of the store. In the back, where most of the supplies Glenn needed were, it was completely dark, even in the middle of day. His small flashlight wasn't strong enough to light the whole place. And the lightbulb was dimming; he needed to find new batteries before he left.

Fortunately, it looked like he was in luck; while the store had obviously been robbed at one point, there was still enough supplies left to last Glenn a few trips to the place. He found the supplies he needed easily enough, even finding a pair of water bottles left in the broken down vending machine. Now all he had to find were some batteries, ones that his flashlight would take.

Carefully, Glenn unscrewed the head of the flashlight and held out his hand. Darkness surrounded him and he squinted his eyes, hoping that they would adjust to the lack of light quickly. Out plopped a single AAA battery. That would be easy enough to find in the store. AAA's were one of the most commonly used batteries, and they often sold them in bulks. Glenn fumbled in the dark, trying to put the battery back in the flashlight, hoping that his eyes had adjusted enough to see if he had put the plus or negative in the correct position.

The doorbell chimed.

Glenn froze in place, forgetting about his flashlight for a second. His head snapped up, looking to the front, and he was blinded by the sunlight for a brief second. Glenn expected to see a silhouette standing in the front, either of a Walker or another lucky survivor. He didn't know which one he would have rather wanted. A single Walker he could take, and another survivor meant that he could bring someone back to the safety of the camp.

But instead he found... nothing.

No one was standing in the front of the shop. If it wasn't for the breeze of warm, fresh air that had hit his face, Glenn would have thought that he had imagined the chime. Something wasn't right. Unsure of what to do, and in an attempt to calm his nerves, Glenn spoke up.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Silence. His nerves were acting up again, and Glenn scrambled to fix his flashlight. His hands were shaking, and he dropped the head of the flashlight. It fell to the ground, twinkling against the laminated floor tiles, and Glenn whispered a curse under his breath. He bent forward, searching desperately for the head with his hands instead of his eyes. He needed to get out of there. He needed to get out of there _right now._ Where was it? _Where was it?!_

_There_! There was the head. Glenn picked it up and hurried to screw it back into place. As he twisted the head back on, the sound of metal on metal making him cringe, reminding him of nails on a chalkboard, he heard it.

He heard the growl.

Glenn's stomach dropped, and he almost fell to the ground as his legs failed him. He grabbed for the nearest shelf for support, eyes wide in panic as he looked for the Walker he had heard earlier. It had followed him, stalked him as if he was prey. But still he couldn't find it. Glenn turned the flashlight back on as he stood up once again, and pointed the object in every direction. The light bounced everywhere, matching the panic Glenn was feeling.

Where was that Walker?

Glenn couldn't stay there any longer, playing cat and mouse with something that shouldn't have as much intelligence as it had. He ran up the aisle towards the door, feeling his booted footsteps stomp with an urgency he hadn't felt in a long, long time. The growling grew even more menacing, and much, _much_ louder. The Walker was getting pissed off. He was just a few feet away from the door, if only he could reach it...

The growl turned into a feral shriek, and something whizzed past Glenn like a bullet. Glenn faltered as he tried to avoid whatever had been flung at him, stumbling to his left and falling into a shelf full of Cheerios and Froot Loops. Cereal boxes fell on him like an avalanche. Glenn hit the back of his head and cried out in pain. He tried to stand back up again, rubbing his head underneath his baseball cap, and only managed to scramble closer towards the door.

The ear splitting screech pierced the air again, and Glenn had somehow managed dodge whatever had been aiming for him again. It was then that he realized that it had been the Walker, leaping towards him like a lion would leap for its prey. Glenn stared at the sight of the Walker, hunched over on all fours, and wearing a blue hoodie that had been duct taped around the arms. The Walker's hands had distorted into large claws, stained with blood and dirt. Its face, while Glenn could not see most of it, was also stained with blood.

Glenn would have been sick if he hadn't feared for his life right then. The Walker screeched again and leaped towards him. It would have landed on Glenn if it wasn't for his quick thinking. Grabbing the blender on the shelf beside him, Glenn smacked the object against the Walker's head. The plastic blender cracked with the force of the hit, and Glenn felt a sharp sting in his hand. He probably just cracked a few bones in his hands.

However, it did the job. The claws, which had been primed for the kill, narrowly missed Glenn's chest. It yelped in pain as it fell to the floor before making guttural noises that sounded halfway between garbled words and growls, and Glenn saw his chance to escape.

This time he managed to get on his feet and he ran for the door. Glenn sprinted down the open street, not caring if any passing Walkers saw him. His heart was thrumming in his ears and adrenaline was pouring through is veins. Was he breathing? It certainly didn't feel like he was. All he could focus on was getting back to the warehouse, finding his car, and getting back to the campsite as soon as possible.

"**_RYAAAAAAAH_**!"

Oh no. It had followed him. Glenn glanced behind his shoulder to see the blue hooded Walker leaping towards him, shortening the distance between him too fast. Glenn screamed himself as he scrambled to the side, taking a small alleyway that he had never used before. Hopefully it would be too narrow for the thing to jump down. And it was a _thing_; there was simply no way that _that_ was a Walker.

It wasn't too narrow. And now Glenn was in a part of Atlanta that he didn't know with that leaping monstrosity right on his heels, shrieking its ugly head off. It was probably alerting every Walker in a two mile radius of Glenn's location. Glenn couldn't help but think that there was no way he was going to make it back to the warehouse in one piece. As he stepped out of the alleyway, he was met with the sight of several normal Walkers, who noticed him immediately as he ran past them. Soon, Glenn had at least seven stumbling companions after him, as well as his other friend. This was not good.

Glenn still had some luck, however, as the warehouse finally came into view after what felt like an eternity of running. He couldn't help but smile to himself as he reached for the lock's key. He held it in his shaking left hand, knowing that he would have to act fast to keep the Walkers from turning him into a buffet. Glenn made a hard stop as he reached the large double doors and he frantically forced the small key into the lock. The lock popped open, and Glenn desperately pulled the chain off of the door.

"**_RYAAAAAAAH_**!"

Glenn turned around just in time to see the blue blur of the thing come racing towards him. Reacting on instinct, Glenn cried out in fear and brought his messenger back up to protect him. The thing tackled him, and Glenn heard the fabric rip as the claws made contact, grunting as he felt the force behind the attack. Water splashed his legs and feet as the bottles inside the bag were shredded apart. Canned food fell to the ground, but Glenn managed to hold the messenger bag up to stop the other supplies from spilling out.

If that had been his chest, Glenn would have been a goner for sure.

Before the thing could leap at him again, or shred his skin apart with those terrifying claws, Glenn kicked it in the head with as much force as he could summon. As the thing stumbled backwards from the strength of his kick, Glenn escaped into the safety of the warehouse. The man dropped his messenger bag and quickly locked up the doors. Just as he brought the key out of the lock, the doors burst forward, making Glenn jump back in surprise.

Angry cries of rage and frustration emanated from the other side of the door. There was the sound of the thing's claws against the metal doors, and Glenn cringed as he cupped his ears. The double doors surged forward again. Light shown through the cracked opening, and Glen watched in horror as those long, filthy claws tested the metal. His throat felt too dry, and a wave of dizziness settled over him as if he hadn't eaten anything in days. Minutes passed as the claws searched methodically for a weakness before finally giving up.

The creature's growls filled the air again before finally disappearing in the distance. It had finally given up in its chase.

But what was important was that the doors held. That was enough for Glen to breath out a sigh of relief. However, he doubted that the horde of Walkers that were finally closing in on him would give up as easily as the thing had. Sure enough, as soon as he made that realization, there was a banging on the doors, coming from at least a dozen starving Walkers. Glenn stared at them behind the safety of the barred windows before his view was obstructed by pale, rotting heads.

A Walker managed to break the window with its hands, and Glenn realized that he should probably leave. He didn't hesitate to run up the stairs and jump down onto the dumpster. Immediately Glenn ran down the railroad tracks, all the way back to the hole in the fence he had made, and to his car that waited for his return. He didn't stop running until he was in the car with the ignition on.

Glenn made it back to the campsite on record time, surprising everyone with his speediness. When Shane and Lori asked why he was back so soon, and if the supply run had been successful, Glenn showed them his mangled messenger back. He dropped the bag to the dirt covered ground, and what was left of the supplies spilled out. A can of baked beans rolled over to Shane's foot, and he picked it up.

The ex-cop observed the shredded metal can in both hands, his eyes never leaving the large claw mark the creature had left Glenn as a memento. As a warning. Glenn watched as horror filled Lori's eyes and as a grim frown appeared on Shane's face.

"Never send me back to Atlanta alone, again. _Never_." Glenn stated, surprised by how confident his voice sounded, even when his legs were still shaking.

Glenn refused to elaborate any further, and then spent the rest of the day in Dale's RV.

* * *

This is just a little warm up for a crossover idea I've been entertaining for a couple months now. Think of this as a prequel to a story that I haven't decided to write yet, possibly featuring the survivors of L4d2 and the Atlanta group, since both the game and the show take place in Georgia.


End file.
